The EU Commissioners said they will spell out the requirements as the EU takes up measures to limit the dominance of Big Tech companies, as they will force OpenAI and other AI startups to get their hands dirty in order to use Alphabet’s Google services.

The European Commission, the EU’s competition enforcer, had undertaken the action six months after opening the “specification proceedings” to help the world’s most widely used search engine, Google, comply with the Digital Markets Act.

Google restated its objections to the changes it is required to implement by the EU.

In today’s decisions, Google’s lawyer Kent Walker wrote in an e-mail, “vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans are at risk of being undermined.

“We’ve provided solutions time and time again that would protect users without compromising the DMA’s objectives, but these decisions ignore a wealth of evidence of user harm.”

Google will release 11 features on its Android operating system to make them available to AI competitors to give them access to some of the key capabilities, the Commission said, in an effort to “compete with Google’s Gemini ​AI service.

This would mean that users can activate a rival AI assistant via voice ​commands, similar to the ‘hey Google’ command, to book a taxi or search for information on places. From July 2027, the upcoming version of Android will be bringing up some changes that will benefit users.

The measures include strong safeguards for users’ privacy and device security, and Google will only permit the 11 features to competitors that meet security and privacy requirements, the Commission said.

The EU ruling also mandates that Google anonymously provide OpenAI and other AI chatbots with search capabilities using the data it gathers to improve its own search service.

Before Google opens up its arms, it can first determine whether “rivals” present cybersecurity and data protection threats. The EU measure will come into effect from 1st January next year and will have a formula for working out the cost of the shared data.

In a statement, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said that thanks to these measures, he is “hopeful to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google’s AI services, like Gemini, and that EU users can enjoy greater choice of services.”